Home
by daily-chan
Summary: A unexpected question leads to an interesting conversation and an even more interesting result. No pairing other than friendship. Rated T to be safe.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I am just a fan like all of you out there._

_Warnings: Character OOC-ness._

_I have suffered from a severe lack of inspiration for a long time now and I am aware that the story is hardly a masterpiece. But it made me happy to write it and I think that is what mostly counts while writing fan fiction. I do hope it will make other people as happy as it made me to write it._

_English is not my mother tongue, I ran spell check twice but I can make mistakes so sorry about those._

_Also, it is not written as slash, but if you wish to see it that way, by all means be my guest. I am a firm slash supporter so I will not tolerate bashing on that subject._

_I am aware that some things don't really make sense in the line of the books but when I wrote this I wasn't thinking clearly and I rather like how it turned out so ignore that Harry didn't find out some things before the end of The Order of the Phoenix, he just knew earlier._

_This takes place in the summer when Harry reached The Order of the Phoenix headquarters and stayed there for the remaining time._

_The Story: Home_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx

In retrospect it was a surprise that the question had never been asked before. Sure, people knew about it, but no one had ever asked him the why.

But then again it was also a surprise that Sirius of all people remembered enough of the event to ask the question.

You'd think he had enough other things on his mind while escaping Azkaban to let that little fact slip his mind.

Not that Harry actually realized the man knew anything about it in the first place; the whole thing had completely slipped his mind after the initial fear of being expelled had passed. How was he supposed to know that his godfather remembered it at all?

Harry bit back a snort as he took a sip from his tea before looking up into the bemused warm grey eyes of his godfather.

"Well?" Sirius raised a single eyebrow at him in expectation while besides him Remus Lupin shifted in his seat, his green eyes also focused on Harry.

When Harry had left his shared bedroom with Ron a while earlier because he couldn't sleep he had found the two men softly conversing at the kitchen table. His initial reaction of turning back the way he came from and leaving the two alone had been shot down as both men happily welcomed him to join them for a late night cup of tea. After some worried probing if he was alright the three had settled to drink a nice cup of tea when the question had come out of nowhere, completely catching Harry of guard.

Harry swallowed, "Why do you want to know?"

Sirius smiled at him, bemusing written over his face once more.

"Because I've always wondered about it, though I've never had the opportunity to ask before now"

"I didn't even think you'd remember anything of that night after all this time"

Sirius barked out a laugh. "Of course I remember. That was the first time I saw you in thirteen years. I remember every single moment of that time"

"I rather wish you hadn't "Harry muttered under his breath and startled when both Sirius and Remus rose an eyebrow this time.

"And why would that be" Remus asked while Harry gaped at the two.

"How'd you hear me!"

A quick bemused glance was shared between the two friends before Sirius answered.

"He's a werewolf and I'm a dog Animagus. Our hearing's are better than most"

He paused for a moment as he clearly considered something before smiling.

"That's probably why I heard that whale of a relative of yours bellow from that distance"

Harry let out a bemused laugh. "I bet he'd be mortified. They always try to only yell at me indoors so they neighbours won't hear it."

Sirius snorted "He rather failed at that I'd say. I wonder how many people were as curious as I was after his words"

Harry flushed.

If he was honest with himself he'd have to admit that he didn't clearly remember just what exactly Uncle Vernon had yelled at him that night. But knowing the man like he did it probably hadn't been anything nice.

He decided it would be best to just admit he didn't remember. Maybe that would even get him out of answering that question.

"I'm not entirely sure what it was that he yelled at me. He's usually yelling at me so I automatically delete it once he's done and I was rather angry that night"

"I gathered that from both your expression and the shrieking human balloon that flew around in the sky" Sirius answered with a small laugh.

Harry felt his cheeks colour again as Remus glanced between them.

"You blew your aunt up?" He asked in surprise.

"Not his aunt. At least, she looked nothing like what I remember Petunia to look like" Sirius answered with a snort.

"You know my aunt?" Harry asked perplex.

Sirius shrugged "I met her once or twice at your parent's house when your grandparents visited during Christmas while I was there too."

"You knew my grandparents too?" Harry asked shocked.

He had known that Sirius knew his father's parents but he'd never in a million years would have expected his godfather to have known both sets.

"Knew is a big word pup. I only met them a few times, when Lily moved in with James, Christmas and when James dragged me along to their funerals to keep him from making a fool out of himself"

Harry laughed at the pained yet bemused expression on the man's face. He had already known his grandparents from mother's side had passed away because the Dursley's visited the grave once a year. So it didn't come as a surprise. What was a surprise was that his father had dragged Sirius along.

"Was he that bad then?" He asked curiously.

Sirius shook his head. "Not as bad as expected. But James knew little to nothing about Muggle way's and believed I could help him fit in because I had actually taken Muggle Studies."

"And did you?" Harry asked.

"Sort off. But we are getting off track. You still haven't answered my question"

Sirius leaned forward in his chair, resting his arms on the kitchen table as his fingers folded around his tea cup. His grey eyes staring at Harry.

Harry swallowed as he shifted in his chair, leaning back into it as he sighed.

"I'd rather not answer that question at all" He finally answered after a long moment of silence.

"Why not Harry" Remus asked softly, entering the conversation once more after having stayed quiet for a while. He too leaned forward and unconsciously mimicked Sirius's position.

Harry bit back a smile at the action as he looked at the two friends.

He should feel uncomfortable under their gazes but somehow he didn't mind. Perhaps it was because he knew the two didn't see him as the "Boy-Who- Lived" at all, or because he knew the two cared deeply about him. He didn't know the exact reasons, but both men made him feel comfortable and safe.

But just because he felt comfortable with the men didn't mean he believed they'd stay calm if they found out about that night. He hadn't known them very long yet, but he knew them well enough to believe he knew exactly how they'd react.

"Because I know for a fact that Sirius will get mad and I guess you'd be pretty angry too"

"And why would we get angry"

"What did she do to piss us off?

The questions were asked at the same time and the friends glanced at one another before turning back to Harry.

"Answer the question Harry" Remus was the one who spoke after a short nod from Sirius. His voice patient but with a firm hint in it, telling Harry that it was not up for negotiation.

"What was the exact question again?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and Harry shrugged sheepishly with a small smile.

"Why did you turn that woman into a human balloon?"

"How did you know that I was the one who did that?" Harry retorted, trying to buy time.

Sirius once more raised an eyebrow, an action Harry was quickly beginning to identify with disbelieve.

"You are the only magical person in the area. Arabella Figg is a squib so she doesn't truly count." He added before Harry could open his mouth to complain. "And more importantly I heard the whale bellow to "Come back and put her right"" He raised his fingers in figurative marks while saying the last few words.

"You heard that?"

"We already covered that part pup. Now answer and I solemnly swear I will not commit murder in a fit of anger."

"You swear?" Harry asked as he looked at Sirius sceptically.

Sirius sighed "I cannot promise I won't get mad, but I do promise I will not murder them. So, why did you blow her up?"

"She insulted my parents" Harry answered. Knowing that the promise was the most he would get. It would be unfair to ask Sirius not to get angry while he himself had gotten angry too.

"Insulted them how" Sirius asked in a low voice.

"I don't remember the exact wording used but Aunt Marge kept going on for day's comparing mum to a dog. She breeds dogs and everything is about dogs with her." He explained quickly as he saw the confused looks on both men's faces.

"Anyway, she kept saying that bad blood always comes out and that and I quote 'If there's something wrong with the bitch then there'll be something wrong with the pup' and..."

A loud crack cut Harry off and a low curse made him look up from his intensive staring at the table.

Sirius's hand was bleeding as he pulled it away from his broken cup. He clearly had smashed it in his grip as he gingerly pulled out a couple of glass pieces that were stuck in his hand without ever changing his expression to signal discomfort and a quick wave from Remus's wand healed the cuts immediately before he waved once more and the broken cup disappeared.

"How come you are both so good at healing spells" Harry asked in awe, remembering how Sirius had easily healed his hurt hand a couple of days before while they were cleaning too.

Sirius flexed his hands a couple of times after murmuring a low thanks while Remus answered offhandedly.

"James and I learned strong healing spells early on at Hogwarts for whenever Sirius returned from forced vacations at home. Sirius himself already knew many before he even came to Hogwarts."

"Why..."

"Never mind that, what else did this Aunt Marge say"

Sirius cut Harry's forming question off before he could even complete it.

Harry blinked as he forced his thoughts to focus again. It was clear that Sirius didn't want to talk about it and was getting impatient. So he forced his thought pattern to stop before it even formed and focused back on the original conversation.

"Well... the Dursley's told everyone that my parents had died in a car crash. And Aunt Marge called dad a good for nothing, unemployed lazy scrounger. She never got the chance to finish as I kind of blew her up in that moment"

For a long moment the kitchen was deadly quiet and Harry was reminded of the late hour while he waited for the bomb to explode once their shock died down.

"Why a car crash?"

The question was so unexpected and asked so normally that Harry at first didn't even register the question Sirius had asked.

"Sorry?"

"Why a car crash. Surely they'd understand that you'd never believe that. They'd just have Apparated away if they ever got in one."

"Ah...I never knew anything about my parents being magical or magic in general before I got my letter."

"They never told you anything?" Remus asked softly, but as Harry looked up at him he could see the barely contained anger on his face.

"Not surprising. Lily always did tell us how much her sister hated her and her magic. Though I'm more curious to how they ever thought they'd keep it a secret. Surely you've had accidental magic growing up." Sirius asked with a frown.

Harry glanced at him in surprise. He hadn't thought about it like that but it did make sense that Sirius wouldn't be surprised about why the Dursley's never told him. The man had clearly paid attention whenever his mother spoke about her sister. It also couldn't be denied that for all his behaviour and recklessness, Sirius was anything but an idiot.

"Yeah, though I never could explain it and anything weird happening always got me locked into my cupboard for periods of time. Uncle Vernon believed a good beating could beat the freakishness out of me"

Immediately he realized he had said too much and startled heavily as all the cups and plates in the kitchen shattered in their cupboards with a loud crash.

Harry flinched as both Remus and Sirius turned pale as a sheet and Sirius clenched his fists in anger.

"They beat you?" Sirius asked in a voice soft as silk but deadly icy, not paying the least bit of attention to the crashes, while Remus slightly shifted away from his friend in his seat. Clearly feeling the waves of anger Sirius started to radiate.

"Not often. Most punishments involved being locked into my cupboard and not getting any food." Harry hurried to say.

"You promised you wouldn't kill them!" He exclaimed in alarm as both men rose swiftly from their seats and he jumped up as well.

Sirius shook his head as he took a few deep breaths.

"I'm not. Killing them would be too easy. I am going to kill that fool of a headmaster of yours. What was the moron thinking!"

"Probably as much as you were when you went after Peter. He must have had his reasons" Remus asked, clearly trying to reign in his own anger and looking at things logically, though Harry wasn't sure exactly how much he succeeded in that.

"Yeah, Mum's sacrifice protects me as long as I live in her sister's house. Dumbledore didn't explain everything to me but he hammered that into me." Harry said, trying to calm Sirius down before he could do something he might regret.

Sirius suddenly turned to him. "How did your aunt treat you?"

Harry took a step back at the sudden movement and the murderous expression on his godfather's face.

"She hated my guts. Mostly treated me either like a house elf or like I didn't exist. Why?" Harry asked confused.

Sirius let out a string of loud curses that turned Harry's face bright red and even Remus flushed slightly.

"Go back to bed Harry. I have to have a talk with Dumbledore and you have lost enough sleep as it is." He patted Harry on the head before swiftly walking towards the fireplace in the living room.

Alarmed Harry turned to Remus who shook his head.

"Do as he says, I'll make sure he doesn't kill anyone"

"You promise that?" Harry asked, debating between ignoring his godfather and trying to stop him or making sure to stay as far away as possibly.

"I promise I will do my best." Remus answered as he squeezed his shoulder for a moment before following Sirius and closing the living room door behind him.

Harry stood in the kitchen for a few moments longer, wondering how wanting something to drink could have turned into such chaos before sighing and making his way upstairs.

He didn't dare to try and eavesdrop on the two, not wanting to turn their anger at him but he still kept his ears open as he crawled back into bed. As he heard no sound other than Ron's loud snoring he relaxed a little, thinking that either Remus had managed to calm Sirius down or they had put up silencing charms.

The next thing he became aware of was being shaken awake by a familiar voice.

"Oi Harry" The voice of Fred drifted to him as he opened his eyes and blinked up to the blurry image of a Weasley twin.

"What?" He asked as he took the glasses that were being handed to him and sat up in bed. Ron was still out cold and a quick glance at the clock told him it was still rather early.

"What happened last night?" One of the two asked and Harry took a moment to realize it was George who had spoken.

"What? How do you know? Were you listening in?" He asked alarmed.

"No, but it wasn't hard to deduce something had happened that involved you." Fred said cheekily.

"How so?"

"It was rather hard to miss the yelling earlier" Fred said.

"Not that we are not used to yelling"

"But it was surprising"

"When we realized who it was who was yelling"

"Never knew he had it in him, did you my dear George?"

"Not a clue"

Harry tried to follow the twin's unique speaking pattern for a moment before frowning as their words soaked through to him.

"Who was Sirius yelling at?"

"Not Sirius, though he yelled for a good bit too"

"Not Sirius?" Harry asked confused.

"Remus"

"Remus?"

"Yes. We couldn't hear what he was yelling about though"

"We wanted to grab our special ears to learn more"

"When we heard your name being mentioned"

"And we didn't want to intrude on your privacy"

"But we did hear that they took turns raising their lovely voices at a third person involved"

Harry looked at the two, who for once actually looked slightly guilty and felt a wave of gratitude for the twins at letting knowledge slide for his dignity and privacy.

"Thanks. Who were they yelling at?"

"Dumbledore"

"We recon since he was there. Anyway, when we tried to go downstairs"

"Remus stopped us and asked us to fetch you."

"Saying they wanted to talk to you before everyone else woke up"

"You better hurry; Sirius didn't look all that far away from hexing Dumbledore again."

Harry blinked before throwing the covers off of him and slipping in an old robe Sirius had given him.

"He hexed Dumbledore?!"

"Sure looked like it. Could be Remus too."

"But our bet is on Sirius."

"Good luck" Both twins said at the same time as Harry quickly brushed past them before rushing downstairs.

He took a deep breath to calm himself before opening the kitchen door and stepping through, expecting the worse.

He was however surprised at what he saw.

Sirius was clearly making breakfast while Remus leaned against the counter beside him, sipping from a cup he had to have fixed earlier.

No big surprise there, however the headmaster's position at the kitchen table was a surprise.

The man looked horrible. He was holding a piece of clothing against an eye that was quickly turning black. His lip was cut and bloody and his whole messy and shaken appearance screamed that he had been in a battle. The pieces of a broken wand were sticking out of Dumbledore's robes that were slightly touched by a bruised and swollen hand.

Harry quickly glanced back at his favourite two men to check them for wounds but they both seemed completely fine.

All this took less than a minute to process before Sirius moved to him and gently led him to sit at the kitchen table, on the far side away from Dumbledore.

Harry did not miss Dumbledore's flinch at Sirius's movement but chose not to comment on it in the face of bigger questions.

"What happened to you, sir?" He asked politely as Remus sat down on his right, effectively blocking both of Harry's sides from immediate access.

Dumbledore sighed, removing the piece of clothing to indeed reveal a deeply black eye and turning his attention to Harry.

"I was foolishly enough to act my... failure to see some people's true nature." The man answered cryptically and Harry blinked at the remorseful expression on the headmaster's face.

" What?"

"Your godfather has made it painfully clear what he thought about my...meddling... into your safety and life." Dumbledore seemed to search for the words as he glanced at Harry's left with what seemed to Harry as nervousness.

"He did?" He guessed that answered the question of who roughened Dumbledore up and Harry couldn't help but feel some awe at his godfather's ability to make a man as powerful as Dumbledore nervous.

"What I mean is that we had a long conversation last night and some facts were made known to me that I had not taken into consideration. You must forgive me Harry, but I truly did what I thought was best in the situation"

"That's a load of bull" Sirius interrupted and Harry noted bemused that Dumbledore immediately flinched back at Sirius's harsh tone.

"What the meddling fool is trying to tell you is that in his naive stupidity he failed to account that some people do not change."Sirius's glare in the headmaster's direction was positively terrifying and so powerful that even Harry felt the need to back away a little.

Sirius's expression softened as he turned his attention back to Harry and he placed a comforting hand on his arm, as if sensing Harry's discomfort.

"Those blood wards he spoke off?" Sirius waited for Harry's nod before continuing.

"They are worthless."

"But..."

Sirius raised his other hand and Harry immediately fell silent, not finishing his interruption.

"Let me finish first pup. In the beginning they might have held a bit of power due to the shared blood between you and your aunt. Barely I might add, because Lily's sacrifice was based upon love and as there was anything but love for you in that dreadful house I recon it's a miracle they worked at all."

Sirius glared at Dumbledore for a moment again, making the much older man shift, before shifting his gaze back to Harry again.

"But they did, however slightly that may be...till Voldemort took your blood last June to resurrect. The little protection you had back then, failed completely because he now shared that protection"

"What! But that means..." Harry exclaimed, feeling his head spin.

If those blood wards were so weak and even none existing since last June it was a miracle no Dead Eaters had found him during the time he spend at Privet Drive this summer.

"Yes exactly. Not only were you miserable there for absolutely no good reason, you were also in grave danger for the entire time you were there this summer. Which was proven when those Dementor's found you."

Remus spat out in anger and Harry turned to him surprised, having never heard anger like that in the normally calm man's voice before.

"We...spoke...to Dumbledore about this after Sirius realized yesterday that those blood wards couldn't possibly work if the Dursley's hated you so much. And Sirius has made it clear that he expected full custody over you immediately"

"But Sirius is a fugitive. He can't take custody over me, isn't that the whole reason why Dumbledore called the shots in the first place?" Harry asked bewildered.

He refused to let the small shimmer of hope that tried to enter his mind take hold of him. He had his hopes shot down before and had absolutely no illusions that it would be different this time. Dumbledore had probably found another reason to let him stay at the Dursley's anyway.

"That's where it will get a little confusing and I will not bore you with the complete details of what was said but it comes down to the fact that it had never been his call." Remus said as he glanced at Sirius.

Sirius growled. "I had it written down what I wanted to have happened to you if I were to die or otherwise be unable to take care of you. The only reason I didn't hex him the moment I found out he did not follow my wishes is because he ensured me you were safe and happy."

"But I wasn't happy. I have never been happy at the Dursley's." Harry said, feeling anger build up and not being unable to completely banish it from his tone.

"So we learned yesterday. You never really spoke about those muggles before so I had no clear idea it was so bad. Though I should have known. You were way to ready to move in with a complete stranger when we first met. But I was so happy about your reaction that I didn't think clearly about how strange your reaction was."

Sirius looked torn between anger and despair for a moment or two before his expression turned troubled and he moving his hand from Harry's arm and taking both of his hands in his own.

"I cannot take custody of you while being a fugitive and the ministry would never agree to follow my original back up plan of pacing you in Remus's care."

Harry felt the little ray of hope die out at Sirius's words. He had known it would be taken from him but it didn't stop him from being hurt by the words anyway.

"So I have to return to the Dursley's" He muttered unhappily, looking down at their hands.

Sirius nodded. "Yes. As far as the Ministry is concerned you are still living with your lousy relatives. Which means that you need to keep your mouth shut wherever you are about where you really live"

Harry's head shot up at those words to stare at the slow spreading smile on Sirius's face.

"You mean..." He asked, not daring to hope.

"That you are coming to live here with me and Remus, in our unofficial custody"

"I don't have to return to the Dursley's? I can stay with you two?" Harry asked carefully ad he looked into the handsome face of his godfather before glancing at Remus's smile.

"Not if you don't want to" Sirius answered, looking at him curiously.

"And he won't stop you?" Harry asked with a nod to Dumbledore, who remained oddly quiet during it all.

"He's never been your guardian so he really has no say in the matter." Sirius answered with a dangerous undertone in his voice.

Dumbledore nodded as Harry's lingering gaze.

"Sirius is your guardian and as long as you don't speak of where you are actually staying I...have no hold over it nor can I argue about it." He answered with a low sigh.

"Not if he doesn't want a few curses directed at him again." Remus added with a glare before he too turned to Harry with a smile.

"You both hexed him?" harry asked in awe and shock.

"He tried to change our minds."

"Like we'd ever let him come between us again."

For a moment Harry was eerily reminded of the Weasley twins as the two friends finished each other's words.

Both men smiled at him as they once more completely ignored Dumbledore's presence.

"So what do you think Harry? Would you like to come live with us?" Sirius asked.

Harry didn't bother answering as he flung himself at his godfather and Remus, topping over Sirius's chair and landing all three of them onto the floor in a pile of limbs.

Both men tightened their hold on his as they hugged him between them and Harry too tightened his grip on the two men he loved more than anything in the world.

After finally untangling themselves after a long moment all three were beaming.

"When can I move in?" Harry exclaimed with a cheer, unconsciously repeating words he had said before and Sirius laughed.

"Do you have any belongings left at the Dursley's?" He asked and Harry quickly shook his head.

"Then you've moved in as soon as you picked a room for yourself." Sirius answered.

"I can pick my own room?" Harry asked surprised and both Remus and Sirius laughed.

"Of course. We'll clean it out while you are at Hogwarts, then you can come home with Christmas and we'll decorate it to your liking." Sirius said before blinking at Harry's dazzled expression.

"What?"

"Home...I've never come home before." Harry said with a small voice as he shifted shyly.

Sirius looked at him with a strange expression for a moment before taking Harry's hand and pulling the confused boy with him to the hallway along with an equally confused Remus and opened the front door.

"Stand on the doorstep, count to thirty and then move back inside." Sirius ordered in a tight voice and bewildered Harry moved to do as he said as Remus and Sirius took a step backwards to give him room to re enter the house.

Harry stared at the two men as he slowly counted to thirty, thinking Sirius had finally lost it before seeing Remus's confused expression turn into a bemused one.

As he reached thirty he carefully took a step back inside, closing the door behind him. Not sure what to expect from the two he slowly turned back to them.

"Welcome home Harry" Two people said in equally emotional voices as he turned. Shocked he stared at the two as they positively beamed at him with expressions so full of love, contentment and joy that Harry couldn't swallow the tight knot that had formed in his throat suddenly.

Realizing just what Sirius had done and what they had just said to him Harry felt tears come up and didn't bother pushing them down as he all but flung himself at the two, who once more pulled him into a combined hug tightly with ease.

"I'm home" He whispered to the two as he felt tears stream down his face. But for the first time in life, he was not ashamed of his tears for he knew they were tears of joy and the two men wrapped around him wouldn't think any less of him for them.

For the first time, he was home.

Xxxxx

I am aware that in the book Aunt Marge never left the dinning room. For this story to work I took the words mentioned in the book but the scene from the movie. Sorry if I caused any confusion or irritation about that.

_On Harry Potter Wiki it's mentioned that Mr and Mrs Evans died somewhere before their daughter Lily did. I don't know how they died, but it's believed they died "normal muggle deaths" _

_There is no proof that Sirius truly knew them, it just worked better for my story if he did._

_I also do not know if Sirius truly followed Muggle Studies, but seeing as he owns a motor cycle and had pictures of Muggle girls in his room I think he might have._

_Also, there is no true proof that Sirius was abused by his family, but I find it hard to believe that a family as dark as the Black's who even disown a family member for marrying a Muggle born and love the dark arts that much would not punish their own wayward son._

_Thus I find it very hard to believe that a child like Sirius, who disapproved of his family's ways, was not reprimanded in any way for his disobedience to the Black name. _

_Add to that that he was sorted into Gryffindor and that he spend every holiday with the Potter family before running away from home at the age of sixteen to take permanent refuge with the Potters and I grew to believe that Sirius was in fact often beaten, which would probably result in his friends helping him heal his wounds._

_Remember, that is only my own view on things. Everyone is allowed their own believes thus please do not flame me for being a firm believer in this._

_I am aware that Harry didn't know about the blood sacrifice before the end of Order of the Phoenix, but just bear with me. _

_I hope you enjoyed the story. Reviews are always appreciated and loved._


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